Graphics Software on the Cheap

Since my business idea centers around a website, it's important that I get some decent graphics, including a logo. Since I'm doing this on the cheap, I can't afford to hire a graphics designer to do it. And if I could afford Photoshop, I could probably afford to hire a graphics designer. So what's a guy to do?

I started my IT career as a graphical editor for a software company who did things on the cheap. They bought me a copy of JASC software's Paint Shop Pro to use. Since I'm not a graphic designer I have no idea what bells and whistles it may be missing, but it was more than sufficient for what I was doing.

Later on I took on the company's customer newsletter, which required even more photo editing. With Paint Shop Pro I was able to produce credible graphics, my magnum opus being a picture of our company's new headquarters, complete with our sign, a flag on the flagpole, and the landscape looking nice and tidy. The thing is, at that point the building still had the former occupant's sign, the flagpoles were bare, and there were abundant weeds--we hadn't even moved in yet when I took the picture.

I had a blast removing the old sign, crafting a new sign from our company logo, "pulling" weeds, and adding the national and state flags. And I learned that PSP could do practically anything I could think of.

So when I committed to opening this new business I looked forward to getting some graphic editing software. I looked online, but even used, Photoshop was just too much for my budget. So I looked for PSP instead. The company has since been bought by Corel, but I was able to find a used version of PSP 8.10 online for $30. A bargain.

The software came in the mail yesterday, so last night I sat down to install it. Then, since they've changed the interface, I decided I'd tinker with it a bit to see what's changed. Two hours later I'd put together three separate logo options for my wife to consider. Perhaps half an hour of that was learning the interface changes, and the rest was trying a thousand different options.

It was fun. It was cheap! If you're not a good enough graphic designer to appreciate the difference between Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop, I'd say don't bother paying for the more expensive product. Cheap alternatives are easily found on Amazon or eBay.